Cars featured here on BF, come in many forms. First up is the general barn find that can run the gambit of conditions, but generally are mostly complete, untouched, in varying states of useable condition, and often inoperable. The Second would be wrecks that have often been stripped and left for dead until an enterprising flipper comes along and tries to convince a potential buyer that the sow’s ear is really a silk purse. Third would be drivers that have been modified, usually poorly, to represent a cheesy muscle car facsimile. Category Four are survivors, or near survivors, that have been used, well-stored and maintained, but hardly perfect, and are still mostly in the same state that they have been for years. Bringing up the markers in position Five are full-on restorations – usually with full-on prices. I’m going to place today’s 1971 Chevrolet Camaro in category One – stay tuned and I’ll tell you why. Discovered by Pat L., this Camaro is located in Riverside, California and is available, here on craigslist for $13,500.
There are probably more categories or subcategories, but these five are the ones that I most often encounter. I must say that category Two, in particular, has been in my wheelhouse a lot as of late but a steady diet of those can be defeating. Admittedly today’s find is pretty rough, with lots of surface rust bleed-through, what the seller refers to as “great patina” (sounds like an oxymoron). As for rust-through, however, I’m not seeing any evidence of such, though the seller states, “Roof has a Little Rust” – an often by-product of a vinyl roof covering. As can be seen, this Camaro Sports Coupe is wearing the optional Rally Sport (RS) appearance package which is really nothing more than completely ineffective “nerf bar” bumpers, an endura grille surround, which does little to protect the grille and circular parking lights inboard of the headlights. Additional items are a stainless steel trim piece for the back edge of the hood and an RS emblem for the steering wheel center – just in case you have a senior moment and forget what you’re driving. Rounding out the exterior is a ’70s version of Chevy’s ubiquitous rally wheel and remarkably, all of the wheel centers are still attached.
“Does Not Run Been Sitting For Many Years“, the listing states so the 245 gross HP, 350 CI V8 engine may or may not be revivable. The odometer is reading 100K miles so the actual use could be at least that number or more, but regardless, it’s not a good indicator of potential engine condition. It would be nice to know if this small block will turn over by hand. A Turbo-Hydramatic 350, three-speed automatic transmission makes the rear-wheel-drive connection.
This Chevy could win the “What in the Sam Hill happened in here?” award for its interior. The seats look like they’ve been nuked- likely the result of years and years in the hot and bright California sun. The heat has done a number on the steering wheel too with its notable splits. There is an optional console in place but not much else is discernable – in particular the floors and I would want to know more about their condition.
I don’t consider all second-gen (’70-’81) Camaros to exactly be “worthy”. Some surely are, i.e. an SS, Z28, an extremely clean, well-preserved original Sports Coupe, but this example? It’s an unremarkable model, one of 90K Sport Coupe versions assembled in ’71, and it has a lot of needs. The seller states, “$13,500 Cash Only . No Low Ball Offers“. I state fuggedaboutit at that price, what says you?
Rust in Peace.
Parts car……..at best….
Crispy!
Located in Riverside, or on the Side of the River, exposed by the drought?
No, Riverside is SoCal and pretty much a desert area. THere once was a river, now a flood control with a few ponds and many homeless along the banks. No hidden stuff like in the humid southeast.
You get a lot of rust for your money:-)
Patina?? NO..It’s called surface rust
Mike, when I saw the word patina I thought, Jim, you are being WAY too kind.
Agreed, it’s surface rust period. I was having a tough time coming up with a catchy title for such an ordinary, worn-out car.
JO
That,s what i say patina LOL its rust no matter how you spin it
If only the ‘ ? ‘ that Jim put after the word patina was noticed .. sigh
I could use a parts car, but not at $13k. My running and driving example is only insured for $10k.
You may want to review that coverage Darryl. I had my Camaro insured for $10,500 replacement value for the last eight years. I just increased the coverage to $16,500 no questions asked. There is no way that I would find a half decent car for $10,500 if mine was written off.
Only 18,404 Camaros were produced in 1971 with the Rally Sport option. This one would require closer inspection to see if it is worth restoring.
Correct! My 90K number is for a base Sports Coupe.
JO
You call it patina I call it needs a paint job. $13,500 is $10,000 more than it’s worth but I would do the same thing and see what you can get
It’s call throwing crap at the wall to see what sticks.
Am I missing something, or does that grill look like it came from a Firebird?
Good, it isn’t just me that picked up on the grill looking out of place.
Does look like a pontiac, maybe catalina?
But idk looks odd there for sure.
Great patina???? Not so good choice of a headline.
It was the seller’s claim, not mine, I was just parroting him.
JO
How ironic Rw, you clearly know how to type a question mark, just not read them ..
It’s all rust.There is no patina left.
The Endura grille surround should be body color. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in chrome.
Look closer. I thought the same thing at first glance but that’s not chrome, the paint has been scorched off. It’s almost dark gray on top but as you get lower you can see a bit of green.
Patina’s for pickups. Not so much on F bodies.
Jim, it’s fun to see all the “but, but, RUST!” comments because they saw the word “patina”. You knew that was coming. LOL!
Patina is for pickups. My exact thought when I saw the picture of this pig.
The difference between patina and rust is,with patina, the tin worm is contemplating how nice a meal the metal will be. With rust, the worm is chowing down!
Its not a parts car, its not rusted out, it has surface rust, which is treatable.
The body is obviously all original and in exceptional condition, in terms of how straight and damage (sans surface rust) free it is.
To defend the patina title, actually it does have great patina: the consistsncy of fade on the sides, how the sunburn fades to green, and still has a good amoumt of green on the hood.
The bumper is straight, the wheels have their caps, the engine its air cleaner, the body its trim.
Aside from the sun burn, its a worthy specimen for restoration.
Im happy to counter all the negativity and nay sayers; as usual. Your all not interested in purchasing or preserving such a worthy car, more just peanut gallery.
13k, is an asking price.
Theres a difference between worth and value.
Go find another dry, straight, complete 71 RS
for 10k and then some perspective will be had.
Id light sand and clear seal the body, the ‘patina’ looks cool to me.
For someone not looking for bling, like new, or simply not wealthy, this rare car could be a runner with time, rubber, and fluids.
Another great find, thank you Barn Finds =)
Yep, I agree with it not being a rust bucket. Lots of drivers here, very few hands on builders.
However, it looks as though it was parked under water for at least a short time or more.
“Roof has a Little Rust”. That’s like me saying my hair is thinning on top.
$13,500 is a ridiculous price for this rust bucket IMO.
Looks to have been in an Air Fryer too long.
If y’all hadn’t figured it out yet, everything costs more in California. This is the (waste)land of Newsom, Pelosi and Schiff. Any wonder half the natives are homeless and anyone with a somewhat baked but arrow-straight and fully intact ’71 Rally Sport would be a fool to give it away. Yes, this totally fab lightly surface rusted Rally Sport Camaro is going to cost you more than $3K, Hoss. It’s 2023. They ain’t exactly growing these things on trees out here in the Golden State (or anywhere else), so unless you want to pay equally big bucks for a brand new inauthentic Chinese body (sacreblue!), this fully intact car with light surface rust and its original plates is a true diamond in the rough. Repeat after me: light surface rust. Nothing you ultimate car guys in the peanut gallery couldn’t handle in an afternoon with your prized assortment of Chinese power tools. There ain’t no swiss cheeze here. Priced an NOS Rally Sport Endura bumper lately?? I didn’t think so. Try more than $3K just for that part alone. In fact, the more it sinks in, the more irritating it is to listen to all you ridiculous naysayers half of whom probably daily drive a new $70K monster pickup abomination tear apart a $13K listing for a significant American car that doesn’t require a $10K vanload of inaccurate Chinese reproduction parts from your steadfastly globalist vendor of choice to put back together. There isn’t so much as a hubcap missing here and just a reminder, you can’t buy a stunning, classically beautiful new car at any price today. There ain’t no such thing. This is a high water mark of American car styling. Wake up and smell the Sanka, Sleepy.
!! LOL
ahhhh
Idiot Boy, even more my sentiments !, im literally laughing and applauding;
like the ‘Fool on the Hill’ -Beatles- “sees the sun going down..
The guys out there with there imports and a US flag on the back glass..
if you love your country
put your money where your mouth is ;)
I already own a ’73 Rally Sport Camaro. It is entirely original and in excellent condition except it needs a left front fender. So, I speak from experience; I know what NOS parts cost and the difficulty involved in finding them and I will not buy Chinese knockoff parts. It’ll just remain as is until suitable NOS steel is found. I also own a pristine original paint survivor ’70 Chevelle SS 396, a pristine original paint survivor ’71 Pontiac GP, and an original plate similarly California sun-baked ’70 Buick Skylark Custom. And those are just my old GM cars. No imports. No import brands manufactured in the USA. A 100% American stable made right here.
Two things, see: Rural California is not accurately represented by the lunatics and traitors on the coast. And the only one in this conversation who might not be putting his money where his mouth is is you.
@$ where mouth is – Ugh, I must really be an Idiot Boy (okay, how about slightly autistic?) because I done misinterpreted your response. Just a little battle-scarred and therefore often on the offensive. My apologies for responding defensively without first digesting the nuance of your well crafted response and connecting it to your original comment. It makes perfect sense now and I appreciate every word of it.
My sincere apologies, you are indeed one of the Good Guys!
WHEW ! 😅
i was so disappointed when i read your response, i was gonna write : nooo Idiot, im one of your biggest fans =)
thank you, youre a scholar AND a gentleman ,, a rare find., a diamond in the rough.
Other than some political stuff (i love our Mother, Earth) i think you and i would get along well and build some fine machines.
Keep on keepin on …
Despite your handle, you surely ain’t no idiot! Well said! And even though I must plead guilty to your assertion of driving a $70k pickup, I retain an appreciation for classic muscle of all kinds, and the iconic ’70-3 Rally Sport Camaro certainly qualifies with its iconic styling. I currently have a restored ’70 Z28 (non RS) in my garage, and if I wasn’t age and ability compromised, I’d snap this one up and give it the love it deserves, then park it next to my existing Camaro. As an aside, I have to disagree with retaining the “patina,” especially to the degree exhibited by this example; it simply doesn’t give the Camaro its justified respect. If one wants to drive an ugly car, there are certainly plenty of other specimens to choose from. I think there are plenty of others out there who share my opinion, and I hope the Camaro finds a good home with an owner that understands its intrinsic value and is willing to bring it back to the life it deserves. Thanks for putting up with my somewhat biased spew. The coffee is smelling better all the time!
Well stated. Thank you for helping shine some much needed light (spelled T-R-U-T-H) on the subject. I do believe that you, Sir are among the rarefied group of fellow enthusiasts actually putting their money where their mouth is. As for the rest, I’ll take a few liberties with an old saying: You can reach some of the people all of the time. You can reach all of the people some of the time. But you cannot reach all of the people all of the time.
Tell us your REAL feelings about California!
This is a GREAT car for restoration! As mentioned above, this camaro has everything available to move forward with as a driver or restoration. People on here who do not participate in this market have no clue. They just want to blast away at a car if it is not spotless or looks like it did not roll directly out of the factory. If you want mint condition, go and pay for mint condition and see how cheap 13,500 actually is. For all you winners out their, the market dictates the value, especially with 50 year old rare cars, Check out Econ 101 and get a clue
When my wife said we need to paint the house I told her it was just patina
Just curious, but how did that work out for you?
I like this car a lot – it needs nothing, yet it needs everything.. But there isnt a better starting point for your Z28 clone, or whatever. What your looking at isnt rust, per se.. its desert oxidation. Huge difference, take a sheet of 200 grit paper to that quarter, it’s going to be as shiny and pit free as the day it was stamped. And I will bet you 5 dollars the floors and subframes are rock solid and come right apart. Yep, your gonna have to do all the work yourself to not be upside down in this car and no you shouldn’t pay 13k but this is the right car to start with.
People are getting crazy these days. If someone thinks it’s worth 13.5 k buy it. Guess I am glad I drove most of these cars in the day. Memories.
Amen to that
I live in the rust belt of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We rarely see complete Rally Sport Camaros for sale, at such a fair price. The rust on this car doesn’t compare to our rusty cars. Sand, prime and paint. It will look good as new.
$6.750, and I’ll use the other $8.750 for Harbor Freight sandpaper to put on my Harbor Freight D/A so once I remove the “Surface Corrosion” I can shot primer on it with my Harbor Freight paint gun because if I had tools made in America I couldn’t afford to restore some American History. I guess after 40 years total working on NAVY aircraft. I still call it CORROSION. No matter the metal. Never once saw a Airplane and called it “Patina”
Jim, great choice of words for the article title. The word Patina was mentioned 17 times, so far.
Now, Patina has been mentioned 19 times – that word always stirs the B.F. comment pot.
That’s why I call it the dreaded “P word”.
JO